Friday, September 21, 2012

This was part of the Thai Fight in Lyons events that just happened, and was posted about in the previous blog entry. However, this particular fight wasn't in the uploaded playlist I found, so I only JUST got to watch it.

I think in terms of entertainment value, it deserves fight of the night. All 8 weapons go flying here....no caution, no nothing. Aik Pracha is known for that kind of aggressive style, where as Yohan Lidon (who is no joke as a world class fighter) tends to be a little more technical. He definitely steps up to the challenge here.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Our student, Kun Khmer Canada (Pao), is back in his hometown in Cambodia. To help keep the less fortunate youth of his village out of trouble as well as healthy, he and his friends have constructed a training facility for them!

YMT donated some shirts, hand wraps, skipping ropes and other equipment. Kun Khmer was nice enough to post some pictures!

We had Beatdown sports providing sales on slick Muay Thai gear, Art of War Clothing giving a taste of their new styles, and Neurofit Life systems representing! Organo Coffee was also present to provide the best hot beverages in the city.

A huge thanks goes out to all of the Krus, athletes and their supporters from around the GTA. Southside, New Energy, Brampton, Siam, M-1, Krudar, Warrior and TKMT were among our generous friends to attend the event. Every school showcased great technique and skill for every experience level.

Of course, we want to thank YOU for showing up. You, the YMT member, who came by to support your team but most importantly the greater MT community.

Lastly, a big thanks to all the volunteers. We had a ton of strong men and women help with the set up, the organization, food and, of course, the clean up.

Despite minor technical difficulties, we hope you enjoyed the event! Congratulations again to all the Canadian Champions. This was for you, to honour and recognize the achievments that we as a community have made. Here's to next year!!!

Thursday, September 6, 2012

"Let set backs deepen your resolve. You should always come off an injury or loss better than you went down...

Even people who are completely devoted to cultivating a certain discipline often fall into a mental rut, a disengaged lifestyle...then [injury or some other set back] throws a wrench into the gears. We are forced to get imaginative."

The message is: NOT to go through the motions until an injury or overall lack of motivation stops you from training. The challenge is to stay continually engaged and focused, which can require creativity in how we approach training.

Some suggestions he comes up with are interesting. In a Muay Thai context, they might be translated into:

working techniques you aren't great at (seems obvious, but think about how much you actually do this)

working everything in your other stance,

modifying the grip of your push up,

running a different route at a different pace.

Try a different training time that you normally don't attend (Clinching anyone?)

Offer to lead a work out, or offer your help to an instructor (good for anyone looking to teach)

Even a shift in your intensity can help. Yes, you always want to
strive for improvement, but it wouldn't hurt to take a week or two to take training a little more recreationally (ex. take one day
that you normally do a full class and instead: go for a run, hit the bag, do
some weights on your own). Just don't get stuck in this mode either!!
The opposite is true as well-
sometimes you need to up your intensity to spice it up. Run harder, try
doing double classes on one day, do extra pads with a friend.

When injured, work on a specific technique that is unaffected by the injury. Chances are you injured a body part you use often, so why not work the areas you don't? When I hurt my knee, I didn't train as hard or as much, but I did other things to stay frosty...been working my shoulders and back waaay more. On the technique side, I improved my elbows a lot in a month.

Keep your training proper, but when injury or motivation becomes an issue, change it up. Mostly anything is better than just stopping completely. Keep building yourself so you can live out the rewards of your consistency.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Have you heard the following recently?
"Man, I haven't seen that guy in forever. He lost a lot of weight"
"What? He's a fighter now? Since when?"
"Look at all these people. They are probably all way better than me"
How long have you put off training?

Motivation is NOT easy. I can totally sympathize. It's not only an issue for new students, but old students as well (ie. who may have taken time off).

For both types of students, the thought of the difficult training they must put in can be daunting. Training suddenly becomes low on the priority list.

Let yourself struggle. Let yourself be humbled. You didn't start Muay Thai or consider starting it because you thought you were already a ninja master. You go to the gym BECAUSE it's difficult. You go because, in order to build yourself, you have to do a little breaking. It's science...that's how muscles grow.
In the end, that's what makes it rewarding.

Puke or not, you did it. You do it. You continue to do it. In spite of how hard it is, or what anyone else has ever told you.

Every day you put it off is a day you could have been building. It's NEVER too late. You COULD put off training for another day or even month, but you'd probably regret letting yourself go even more. So start now, and thank yourself later.

Choosing to be strong is not suppose to be easy. Your team at York will help you as much as they can, but it's a decision only you can make.

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That being said, YMT's new schedule will be in effect today. Check the side bar for details. We have the instructors, hours, classes and team mates...go use them!